Personal Injury Law Specialist in Phoenix, Arizona

At this time of the season, it is appropriate to look back and be thankful for what we’ve achieved in the previous year. 2014 has been an outstanding year for Stephen I. Leshner, P.C., which is a one attorney, one legal assistant personal injury, medical malpractice and mass tort product liability law firm in Phoenix, Arizona. Despite our small size, we are listed in U.S. News Best Law Firms in America, and have clients all over the country. Among many other positive outcomes this year, we settled a catastrophic medical malpractice case, a serious injury bicycle collision case, and the first phase of the DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip replacement product liability cases. We had a conversation with one of our clients, after she had received her settlement check, which reinforces why we got into this profession.
She told us that this Thanksgiving was very, very special for her; it was the first time (ever) that she had Thanksgiving Dinner in her very own home. She used her settlement funds to buy a little house just for her and her dog. She said every morning when she gets up, she looks around her little house and is so thankful. Having her own home has been the one thing she has always wished and dreamt for. She went on to explain that as a single woman with little education and raising five children by herself, she never had any money for a real home. She expressed her thanks to me and my assistant for her our efforts; because of us, she has her very first home. Her dream has come true.

Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones, best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2015, and I hope your dreams come true, too.

As a lawyer who frequently represents bicyclists who are seriously injured in bicycle collisions, including the cyclists who sustained catastrophic brain injuries in the 2008 and 2010 El Tour de Tucson, despite wearing approved bicycle helmets, I paid particular interest of the recall notice of bicycle helmets manufactured by Louis Garneau USA. The recall involves the Louis Garneau P-09 aerodynamic bicycle helmets with model number 1405362. The word “Garneau” is located on both sides of the helmet. Recalled helmets have the manufacture date “Jan. 2014” on a sticker inside the helmet. The reason for the recall is that in cold temperatures, the helmet can fail to protect the wearer from impact injuries. Consumers have been notified to immediately stop using the recalled helmets, which cost between $280 to $350, and return them to Louis Garneau USA for a refund or replacement.

If you or someone close to you has been seriously injured in a bicycle collision, please call Phoenix Arizona bicycle injury attorney Steve Leshner for a free consultation.

For the fourth consecutive year, Stephen I. Leshner was recently selected by his peers to be honored in 2015′s The Best Lawyers in America^© in the practice area of Plaintiffs’ Personal Injury Litigation. The Best Lawyers in America^© is a resource for both lawyers and consumers in search of legal talent nationwide. The Best Lawyers in America^© is based on a peer-review survey in which 50,000 leading attorneys cast nearly 5 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed.

Additionally, Stephen I. Leshner, P.C. is included in U.S. News and World Report’s list of Best Law Firms.

Drug giants Bayer and Johnson & Johnson face the first lawsuits related to safety concerns for the billion-dollar blood thinner Xarelto, according to Reuters.

Plaintiffs filed claims after severe internal bleeding sent them to the hospital. In those cases, patients took Xarelto (rivaroxaban), and their claims blame the excessive bleeding on that use.

Unlike warfarin, a trusted mainstay for preventing blood clots for the past 50 years, Xarelto does not have an antidote to stop uncontrolled bleeding, which can be fatal.

Kentucky resident Virginia Stunteneck filed a lawsuit against Bayer in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Stunteneck was hospitalized after she took Xarelto and suffered severe gastrointestinal bleeding in 2013.

She claims the drug should not be sold and that Bayer and J&J continued to sell it even if they knew the risks. The companies also did not inform the public.

“As the manufacturers and distributors of Xarelto, defendants knew or should have known that Xarelto use was associated with irreversible bleeds,” Stunteneck’s complaint said.

In May, Boehringer Ingelheim paid $650 million to settle thousands of internal bleeding cases involving its blood thinner, Pradaxa. The drug hit the market in 2010, a year before Xarelto. Both drugs share the same bleeding side effects.

Attorneys say they expect more lawsuits after more people become aware of the dangers of the drug.

This first wave of claims comes a few months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) advisory panel  unanimously rejected approval of Xarelto as a treatment for patients with sudden reduced blood flow to the heart, including heart attacks and chest pain, also known as acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

While the drug is approved for a number of uses, adding approval for ACS would grant Xarelto access to the 1.2 million Americans who are sent to the hospital each with the condition.

The panel voted that the drug should not be used to prevent new heart attacks and stroke in patient with ACS because there was not enough clinical data to support the approval. The experts added that some trial data was actually missing.

The drug follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, Pradaxa, another drug that has robust sales. Even though the risk of internal bleeding concerned doctors, it did not appear to stop them from prescribing it.

Xarelto is currently approved for more uses than Pradaxa.

Bayer and J&J continue to pursue FDA approval despite being shut down for ACS treatment. The companies are conducting studies on whether or not the drug can be used in combination with aspirin to stop heart attacks, death and stroke. In addition, the companies plan to start testing Xarelto on patients with chronic artery disease and heart failure.

By 2018, analysts say Xarelto will generate about $3.68 million in annual sales.

If you or someone close to you has suffered severe bleeding and complications after taking Xarelto, please contact Phoenix Arizona mass tort and product liability attorney Steve Leshner for a free consultation.